United States AttorneySouthern District of Indiana

Indianapolis Man Sentenced to 18 Years as Armed Career Criminal for Possession of Firearm

INDIANAPOLIS — Steven L. Hunter, 53, Indianapolis, was sentenced to 18 years (216 months) in prison late yesterday by U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence. Hunter was convicted at trial March 24, 2010, of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, as a result of an investigation by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (“IMPD”) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

IMPD officers were dispatched to the Mallard Cove Apartments in Indianapolis in the early morning hours of April 9, 2009, in response to a 911 call reporting a domestic disturbance involving gunshots. The caller reported that Hunter struck her and fired gunshots in her apartment. Two of the shots were fired into the woman’s bed, next to the her head, as Hunter held her down and demanded money. Hunter then fled the apartment.

Hunter’s vehicle was stopped shortly thereafter by IMPD officers near the intersection of 38th Street and Pendleton Pike, approximately one and one-quarter miles south of the Mallard Cove Apartments. An IMPD officer retraced the route Hunter had driven through a nearby parking lot moments earlier and quickly located a black, .38 caliber, Smith & Wesson revolver lying on the ground. The cylinder of the six-shot revolver was fully loaded with three live rounds of ammunition and three spent shell casings. A search of Hunter’s person uncovered four additional live rounds of .38 caliber ammunition in his pants pocket. Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency later test fired the .38 caliber revolver found in the parking lot on 38th street and determined that weapon had fired the bullets fired inside the caller’s apartment.

A person with three qualifying felony convictions who is convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm may be sentenced as an Armed Career Criminal. The court found Hunter had three qualifying felony convictions, and he thereby faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. Under present federal regulations, Hunter will serve at least 85% of the imposed 18 year sentence.

According to Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Rinka and A. Brant Cook, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge Lawrence fined Hunter $1,000 and imposed three years supervised release following Hunter’s release from prison.

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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives United States Department of Justice